Mischa Leinkauf, 37, and Matthias Wermke, 35, of Berlin, said they simply wanted to “show the beauty of public space” — not humiliate the Police Department or fuel terrorism fears.

“This was not an anti-American statement,” Wermke, who has created public-art installations featuring flags in the past, told The New York Times.

“From our Berlin background, we were a little surprised that it got the reaction it did. We really didn’t intend to embarrass the police.”

The pair — now back in Germany — said they wanted to pay homage to famed German-born engineer John Roebling, who designed the bridge, by planting the flags on July 22, the anniversary of this death in 1869.

“We saw the bridge, which was designed by a German trained in Berlin who came to America because it was the place to fulfill his dreams, as the most beautiful expression of a great public space … That beauty was what we were trying to capture,” Leinkauf told the paper.

The daring duo released video footage of a white flag flapping on what seems to be the bridge’s 276-foot towers with the New York City skyline in the distance.

The pair also offered up details about the stitching and weaving on the flags — including claims they had hand-sewn them with two kinds of white fabric and cut holes for the stars.

Still, “I can’t say with 100 percent certainty these two guys did it … [Cops] need more evidence to bring them back to the states.”

Either way, the daring intruders — who slipped past the NYPD’s anti-terror forces to swap the bridge’s American flags for white ones — were likely more than a two-man team, the-law-enforcement source added.

The artists left New York on July 24 — two days after the flag stunt, law-enforcement sources said. It’s unclear if they’ll be forced to return to United States to face charges.

“The NYPD is aware of the public statements made by the German artists . . . in regard to the Brooklyn Bridge flag case. The investigation is continuing,” an NYPD spokesman said.

Leinkauf and Wermke said they were inspired by Gordon Matta-Clark, who famously climbed the Clocktower Building in lower Manhattan in 1974.

Additional reporting by Dana Sauchelli

Photo: Paul Martinka

The tin pan used to cover the lights at the top of the Brooklyn Bridge

Photo: William Farrington

Photo: Paul Martinka

The Stars and Stripes flies over the bridge again as of 3:30 p.m. Tuesday.